North Central Research and Outreach Center

Grand Rapids, Minnesota

http://ncroc.coafes.umn.edu/

With towering trees planted more than 100 years ago and compact ornamentals, small fruits and vegetables, grasses and forage, beef cattle, and Minnesota’s signature wild rice, the North Central Research and Outreach Center encompasses a wide spectrum of agricultural and natural research subjects. In addition, studies of tourism, ecological management, and use of industrial byproducts are all specific to the climate and industries of north central Minnesota.

The Center at Grand Rapids is a unique treasure. The Center’s main site is filled with timber, ornamentals, and edibles. Thirteen acres nearby are devoted to wild rice, and 200 acres five miles south have been developed for beef, forage, and alternative crops research. It has been a University resource since 1896, when the land was surveyed and fenced, plans were laid for drainage of swamps, and research projects in forage, grains, cranberry and livestock began.

At the Center a display garden of All American commercial varieties, and test gardens of new U of M developed flower varieties, give visitors a chance to check out promising varieties for the northern gardener.

Unique Geography, Climate

Northern sandy soils and abundant rainfall provide important research opportunities found nowhere else in the University’s agricultural research system. With its short growing season and cold winters, NCROC is nearly perfect for studies of cold hardiness. Available water and flat terrain are well suited to wild rice research. Abundant forage and pastureland support the University’s beef research herd. Most of the alfalfa varieties that are developed for use in the Midwest and Northeast United States are screened for nematode tolerance in the Center’s alfalfa nurseries. Blueberry and strawberry varieties developed and tested at NCROC are among the main varieties grown in Minnesota and the upper Midwest.

Forest products represent an $8 billion annual part of Minnesota’s northern economy. Silvicultural research—how to grow better trees faster—and tree breeding programs operate within the multi-state Aspen Larch Genetics Cooperative, headquartered at the Center.

The regional Aspen/Larch Genetics cooperative is housed at the Center and works to improve tree growth rates.

Byproducts of Industry

Economic and environmental problems and potential of industrial byproducts—particularly from wood and paper industries—are important elements of several Grand Rapids projects. Across the region, ash from industrial power generation accumulates at the rate of 100,000 tons a year—disposal can be an expensive undertaking that fills area landfills. Since 1985, the Center has evaluated the environmental safety and economic viability of using the ash as a positive additive incorporated into farm soils like composted manure. Successful techniques have saved area industries millions of dollars.

Similarly, the effects of municipal waste biosolids on soils and water and for mine land reclamation is being examined in cooperation with the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, which needs to dispose of 28,000 tons annually (enough to fill about 1,000 over-the-road 18-wheelers). Residue from the de-inking stage of recycled paper production is also being studied for its effects on crops.

Minnesota tourism, a $9 billion industry, has woods and water at its heart. This makes the use and preservation of Minnesota’s forest and aquatic resources increasingly important. Computer tools developed at the Center can help forest managers balance recreation and timber harvests with old growth preservation and wildlife management. Improved technology helps managers of public resources as well as private forest land owners, and will benefit Minnesotans for generations to come. The NCROC serves as the base for analyses and planning for management of Minnesota’s two national forests, the Superior and Chippewa.

Additional research on customer behavior and the economics of tourism and travel help communities and industry diversify rural economies. A shoreland vegetation and landscape program creates research-based educational programs for preservation and management.

Alternatives to Row Crops

As the coldest horticultural research center in the lower 48 states, its focus on “extreme” horticulture is unduplicated. The Center is one of about 200 sites across the nation displaying and testing horticultural, floral and ornamental “All American Selections” candidates. Allied with these trials are winter hardiness evaluations for new U of M varieties being considered for release by the University’s world-renowned tree fruit, chrysanthemum and berry and melon breeding programs.

An array of market vegetable cultivation research occurs in the harsh climate of the Center. Some is also connected to new “nutriceutical” uses of plants to improve human health—such as how water stress affects gluconasturtiin (a natural compound that may prevent cancer) in Chinese cabbage.

Much of the U.S. wild rice research takes place at the Center, in wild rice paddies along the Prairie River. The results are shared with growers and other interested in this unique crop.

The Center’s abundant forage and pasture land support the University’s beef research herd. The research program is a national model.

NCROC also hosts University beef cow-calf research on 240 acres of pasture, with a modern laboratory, housing and handling facilities for 250 head of cattle at two locations. The Center’s research program is a national model for using advanced levels of technology to improve reproductive management and efficiency in beef cattle. Application of technologies such as estrus synchronization, ultrasound checks for pregnancy and fetus sex, twinning, cloning and embryo transfer echoes the pioneering research in artificial insemination in the Center’s dairy herd during the 1930s.